Schaeffers seeks liquor license for greenhouse events and packaged sales; trustees ask code changes to limit retail conversion

The new owners of Schaeffer's greenhouse appeared before the board to request feedback on applying for a liquor license that would permit both package sales and on-premise service for special events and customer tastings.

Owner representative Murdock said the goal is to "elevate the customer experience" by offering wine tastings, margaritas for shoppers, food-truck nights and limited packaged wine sales in conjunction with plant and gift purchases. He said Schaeffer's historically held a packaged-liquor license under a florist-specific class but that license lapsed under prior ownership.

Trustees expressed support for the owner’s vision but asked staff to explore ways to limit package sales so the site could not reasonably convert into a standalone liquor store. Village counsel and staff noted the prior ‘‘class K’’ florist license allowed beer and wine sales tied to floral or gift purchases, and they said the code could be amended to reflect the board’s intent.

Trustees also discussed downstream consequences of issuing a pouring license: state rules can allow video-gaming terminals at some licensed sites, and trustees asked whether the owners anticipated that. The applicant said they have no interest in video gaming and that maintaining family-friendly, event-oriented operations is their intent.

Staff will return with recommended code amendments or tailored license language to reflect the owners’ stated intent and to limit the risk of package-liquor retail conversion in the future. No vote was taken; the discussion served as a preliminary hearing before staff processes a formal application and required background checks.